Buying Manitou was one of JFK's first presidential actions. Built in 1937, she was purchased by JFK in 1961 to serve as the presidential yacht, nicknamed the "Floating White House." However, after JFK's assassination she fell into disrepair until being restored by a syndicate of owners in the 2010s who have raced her successfully in the Mediterranean.

2. Buying Manitou was one of
JFK’s first presidential actions,
yet the boat was nearly lost.
By Guy Venables
White
YACHT
J F K’S

3. 8 CLASSIC BOAT DECEMBER 2012
T
he glittering twin scoops of Cannes Bay
squat between the Mediterranean and
the shimmering lavender hills of the
Estérel mountains like a bum print in the
sand. It is a place where life is slow
enough to split the day with a siesta and
fast enough to benefit in the thrilling warmth of the night.
The old port is surrounded by tall, dark streets where
reassuringly surly waiters entice diners into their
restaurants. It was fitting that I was in Cannes to join this
particular boat, as one of the previous owners was so
intrinsically connected with the film business that it is
excusable to forget his political career entirely.
Manitou was built at the MM Davis & Son yard in
Solomons, Maryland, in 1937. She was conceived by James
Lowe of Grand Rapids, who was so determined to win the
Chicago Mac Race (from Chicago to Mackinac Island,
RobertKnudsen,WhiteHouse/jfkLibrary,Boston
previouspage:RobertKnudsen,WhiteHouse/jfkLibrary,Boston

4. 9CLASSIC BOAT DECEMBER 2012
made an impression on him because, when he was
elected, the presidential yacht at the time was the 92ft
(28m) power yacht Honey Fitz (named after his own
grandfather) and, as was customary, a fighting ship ready
for naval action.
Being a keen sailor, however, and now the president,
Kennedy sent naval aide John Tazwell to search out a
suitable sailing yacht that could accommodate the
equipment needed for him to keep in touch with the
White House, and even the Kremlin. One of the yachts
on the list was Manitou and, in the style befitting of his
entire career, the signing of her deeds was one of the first
things he did sitting at the presidential desk.
She was promptly moved to Chesapeake Bay where
engineers fitted her out as a working presidential office.
Indeed she was soon given the nickname “The Floating
White House”.
nigel pert
across Lake Michigan) that he commissioned the young
naval architect Olin Stephens to design her specifically.
What he wanted was a performance cruising yacht
that would race well under heavy and light conditions.
So Stephens designed a 62ft (18.9m) cutter-rigged
bermudan yawl with 44ft (13.4m) in the water, a 13ft
9in (4.2m) beam and a four-ton keel. She had teak
planking on deck and mahogany on oak for her hull.
Manitou was launched in 1937 and promptly won the
1938 Chicago Mac Race in the cruising division (on
corrected time), beating all previous records. She came a
close second the next year and came back to win it again
in 1940 and 1941. After these successes Mr Lowe sold
her, and in 1955 she was donated to the US Coast Guard
to be used as a training vessel.
It was while she was at Annapolis that Manitou was
first spotted by a young Senator Kennedy. She obviously
Previous spread:
Kennedy never
raced Manitou
Opposite: JFK
relaxes with his
wife Jackie (in
white) and a
young John Kerry,
among others
Above: The boat is
now owned by a
syndicate of keen
Med racers

5. Length On deck
62ft (18.9m)
Waterline length
44ft (13.4m)
beam
13ft 9in (4.2m)
Draught
8ft 6in (2.6m)
Displacement
60,000lb
(27.2 tons)
Sail area
1,778sqft (165m2
)
MANITOU
BATH
10 CLASSIC BOAT DECEMBER 2012
MANITOU
Although he never raced her himself, Kennedy and a
friend, future America’s Cup winner Emil “Bus”
Mosbacher, had an impromptu competition off Newport
to see whether Manitou could beat his 38ft (11.6m)
Weatherly. Sadly, the boats got so close approaching a
mark that the secret servicemen in their RIB, nervous
already at this sudden and unexpected turn of speed,
intercepted Bus – much to the annoyance of the president.
During his time he not only used her as a presidential
yacht, but also invited a bevy of stars and starlets aboard
as guests, due to his fascination with Hollywood. The
bathtub in the aft cabin, sunken under the cabin sole, is
said to have been host to, among others, Marilyn Monroe.
the star wanes
In 1968, long after JFK’s assassination, she was finally
sold at auction to Paul Hall, the leader of the Harry
Lundeburg School of Seamanship, and became once
more a vessel for learning. In the same year, Aristotle
Onassis was wooing Jackie Kennedy, and, as a token of
his love, twice attempted to buy it back for her at “any
price”. But Hall was a proponent of the common man,
so the offer only strengthened his resolve to keep her for
teaching less privileged children about teamwork.
In 1999, in poor state and neglected, her history a
mere forgotten footnote, she was bought by Laura
Kilbourne, the great-granddaughter of none other than
James R Lowe, the original owner. Manitou was given a
major and meticulously accurate refit at the Chesapeake
Marine Railway in Deltaville, Virginia – just down the
road from where she was built.
By 2010, however, Laura was forced to sell by the
arrival of triplets, relinquishing Manitou to the present
Above: She has
been meticulously
restored at
Solomons and at
Villefranche
Opposite: The bath
in the stern cabin
famously once
soaked Marilyn
Monroe (inset)
owners Phil Jordan, Pat Tierney, Claes Goran Nilsson
and Melinda Kilkenny. Though Laura’s refit had started
a decade before, the boat was as yet unsailable and there
was much to do. The interior, panelled beautifully in
American butternut, a hard but light wood, was totally
bare. There were no doors below, the original sails were
still with her but could be seen through like greasy paper,
and her rig, it was considered, could be improved.
And so, in December, in another fateful turn of events,
she was taken back to Solomons where she had been
built. Here, her stem was replaced, her engine changed
for a 120hp Yanmar, the wiring redone, new tanks fitted
and new batteries and navigation equipment were
installed. She was given new winches and tracks and
then came the varnish.
opposite,left:nigelpert

6. 11

7. “They have their rules: no shouting is one
I particularly agree on”
13CLASSIC BOAT DECEMBER 2012
MANITOU
After a gruelling four months of varnishing every
inside inch of her, the interior finally sparkled once again.
An interior that, it is important to note, has a sunken
bath, a fireplace and a fridge that has been modified to
be opened from the top or sides. None of this detracts
from one of the most elegantly laid-out living quarters
and galleys you will come across. She seems large, light
and airy with plenty of headroom and nothing seemingly
compromised.
On top, the decks are uncluttered and the
companionway, being amidships, leaves the cockpit free.
She left the yard on 10 July 2011 and sailed into New
York Harbor, flashing her cream sides past the Statue of
Liberty with all sails up, making a triumphant 9 knots.
Many a proud eye may have dampened with salt spray
that day. From there, she went up to Newport, Rhode
Island, and was shipped across to the Mediterranean.
Then the next chapter unfurled. She went into the
famed Villefranche boatyard near Nice and, along with
recaulking her hull and replacing the garboards, the rig
was improved. The original mainmast had three sets of
spreaders, and this they reduced to two, also removing
the jumpers. The upwind performance was improved to
such a degree that, with the mizzen staysail balancing it
all, Manitou is now the envy of the fleet. Although this
year was planned as a training year, no one seemed to
have told the boat, and she started winning races
regardless, taking first place in the Puig Vela and Alcudia
and coming second in Palma, Nice and Imperia.
sailing manitou
I stepped aboard as the sun was just drying the dew over
the toerail and was welcomed by what at first seemed like
a multinational but close family made up entirely of men.
They were milling about in the restrained excitement
before a race, putting on sailing gloves, taking off socks,
discussing tactics and stowing breakables. The winds
were light and I was soon pulled into a discussion about
the advantage this gave the smaller boats in the class. We
made ready and sailed out of Cannes into the Golfe de la
Napoule. The wind, little that there was, perked up a bit,
so we raised the jib and Manitou woke up.
Top: Revarnishing
took a “gruelling”
four months
Above: Manitou’s
30-strong crew
syndicate always
furnishes enough
for a race
KATHYMANsFIELDNIGELPERT
NIGELPERT

8. 14 CLASSIC BOAT DECEMBER 2012
MANITOU
There were 11 people on board and she didn’t feel
crowded. Six minutes were called. We admired the
posture and varnish of our adversaries like jockeys
leaning on the race paddock fence. Five minutes. I
fiddled with my camera and changed the lens. We raised
the main. Three minutes. One of the Swedes on the
foredeck changed his knee pads. One minute. We no
longer admired our adversaries. Go!
One of the things that is unique in sailing is that there’s
no suddenness about the start of a race, no screech of
tyres. You merely carry on doing what you were doing
before. The crew is a syndicate made up of old friends, all
evenly tanned and most of them in their fifties. I was
immediately intrigued by the dynamic, and as other
skippers could be heard yelling at their crews, here was
calm. On a full race charter there are constant questions
and eternal strangers. Here there was cohesion, the ease
of familiarity and the knowledge of each other’s abilities.
I sat down next to a particularly distinguished French
gentleman who lived on the western edge of the bay. He
explained to me how wonderful the lobsters used to be at a
restaurant on a nearby island that had been closed down
by the monks who owned the lease. The wind picked up a
little more and Claes swung on shrouds and gave complex
trimming signals to the well-manned cockpit. Having three
of the four owners on board also lightened the potential
hierarchy and it became evident that this was a crew of
mixed ability but shared enthusiasm.
They had their rules: no shouting was one I particularly
agree on; no paid crew, and they’d decided that 30 people
was the maximum syndicate size – small enough to avoid
confusion but large enough to provide a full crew for most
regattas. Friends, and friends of friends. And when the
more salubrious regattas became oversubscribed, they
decided to put extra money into the funds. Everything was
done with the doff of a gentleman’s agreement. Not that
there aren’t any women involved. Far from it. When on
board, the ladies, as well as one of the owners, Melinda
Kilkenny, are known as “The Mizzen Sisters” such is their
expertise at dealing with all things mizzenly.
And so we raced. And as we raced, the skipper Alex
Tilleray, prised from The Blue Peter, guided us through
the race, adjusting sheet cars ready for a tack, setting the
spinnaker boom in case we needed it and even explaining
how to tie a particular haul knot. His influence was
pervasive; his racing knowledge unquestionable and his
demeanour lacked that manic violence of the fanatical
winner. We won, it seemed – it’s always difficult to tell
– and we headed back to the old port to drink beer in the
cockpit and talk of our tactics, joined by wives who’d
been shopping.
It was on dry land, however, that I fully understood the
advantage of a syndicate. There was, as there often is, an
altercation during the race, which led to an inquiry. The
inquiry led to one of Manitou’s owners, Phil Jordan, being
threatened by the skipper of the other boat in the pub
straight afterwards. He was surrounded by the syndicate,
shoulder to shoulder, ready to defend him. Had they been a
group of strangers, that may not have been the case.
Pat told me that when they were looking for a boat to
buy, Phil had said he was looking for one with
significance. There can be few, if any, with more.
www.manitouyacht.com
Clockwise, from
bottom left: The
boat needed new
garboards;
replanking and
refastening; in the
Villefranche yard;
being lifted on to
a carrier en route
for the Med
peterjordan